One of the biggest healthcare challenges faced by our nation continues to be the obesity epidemic among children:
- First Lady Michelle Obama has sought to do her share, advocating for healthier lunches for children.
- Meanwhile, local schools are cracking down on junk food, hoping that banishing Twinkies from the campus will be the answer.
But what do you do when a child you love is overweight? That's the dilemma that advice columnist Jeanne Phillips sought to answer in her Dear Abby column on February 5. A well-meaning aunt wrote in, describing her overweight niece as having a "horrible habit of literally shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she can."
Abby's response: "Be smart and don't make this about disgusting table manners....talk to both parents and ask what Sara's pediatrician says about her weight." But, Abby cautions, "do not make it appear that you're criticizing their parenting or they'll shut you out."
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